Fallen Heroes

FALLEN HEROES

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, May 31, America will celebrate Memorial Day, our most solemn national holiday. First observed in 1868 to commemorate the Civil War dead, it was initially called Decoration Day. This tradition of placing flags on the graves of our war dead began at a time when our country still bore the scars of a four-year war that claimed 620,000 American lives, a war that divided America as nothing else has, before or since.

But as the House of Representatives pauses in 2004 to honor our Nation's fallen heroes, we do so as one Nation united by the values of liberty and democracy. When American families carry wreaths and flags to veterans' graves across the country, we do so as one America. When we visit the Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery in Owings Mills, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, or the new World War II Memorial on the Mall, our memories will be of those we knew and loved. And our thoughts and prayers will be with those still in combat today.

This year, while our military struggles to bring stability to Iraq, mounting American casualties cast new light on the meaning of valor and sacrifice. Nearly 800 American men and women have died in Iraq in the past fourteen months; yet on the faces of our soldiers, we see only their resolve, their unwavering dedication.

I want to make special mention of the 8 young Marylanders who have died in the Iraqi conflict: Private Brandon Davis, Specialist Jason Ford, Command Sergeant Major Cornell Gilmore, Captain Jason David Mileo, Specialist George A. Mitchell, First Lieutenant Adam G. Mooney, Sergeant Jeffery Walker, and Staff Sergeant Kendall Damon Waters-Bey. These brave men left the comfort and safety of our shores for Iraq, and theirs was the ultimate sacrifice. They are our heroes in the truest sense of the word. We extend our gratitude to them, we offer our condolences to their loved ones, and we hold them up as an example of America's best.